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A review by maa_pix
Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John Hodgman
4.0
I enjoyed this book immensely. It didn't hurt, I'm sure, that I'm somewhat of a doppleganger of Hodgman: close in age, close in background, close in our views on life. (I have less fame and money, though.) The book presents different snapshots from his life in western Massachusetts and coastline Maine, and is in many ways a pleasing ramble more than a specific treatise with an objective.
As I was reading the book, my thought was, "This reminds me a lot of Mike Birbiglia." When I got to the closing acknowledgments, I found Birbiglia was the first one Hodgman calls out as an inspiration for the book. Hodgman is a bit less neurotic and a bit more intellectual than Birbiglia, but the flavor is much the same. He has a pension for a self-depreciating point of view, but never takes it too far or relies on it too much. He overall seems to have a generous outlook on other people (at least in the long term). Only his negative takes on the Great Lakes and fudge rubbed me the wrong way, but those minor shortcomings were easily forgiven.
This book made me laugh out loud more than once. That's one of the best recommendations I can give. Plus it's a short book, so even if you don't fully take to Hodgman's writing, it won't cost you much to give it a try.
As I was reading the book, my thought was, "This reminds me a lot of Mike Birbiglia." When I got to the closing acknowledgments, I found Birbiglia was the first one Hodgman calls out as an inspiration for the book. Hodgman is a bit less neurotic and a bit more intellectual than Birbiglia, but the flavor is much the same. He has a pension for a self-depreciating point of view, but never takes it too far or relies on it too much. He overall seems to have a generous outlook on other people (at least in the long term). Only his negative takes on the Great Lakes and fudge rubbed me the wrong way, but those minor shortcomings were easily forgiven.
This book made me laugh out loud more than once. That's one of the best recommendations I can give. Plus it's a short book, so even if you don't fully take to Hodgman's writing, it won't cost you much to give it a try.